Office chairs currently used in Hong Kong are mostly imported from western countries. Hence they are generally designed for people with body sizes that are largely different from those of Chinese people. This mismatch will influence the comfort of the sitter and thereby influence productivity and efficiency. However, the methodology to determine seat depth for a certain population has not been reported in literature. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology and determine the optimum seat depth for Chinese people. Sitting positions for different seat depths were determined as the distance between the buttock and the edge of the seat pan. Two experiments were designed and run using a specially designed chair. Experiment 1 used a seat surface without a cushion while experime...[ Read more ]

Office chairs currently used in Hong Kong are mostly imported from western countries. Hence they are generally designed for people with body sizes that are largely different from those of Chinese people. This mismatch will influence the comfort of the sitter and thereby influence productivity and efficiency. However, the methodology to determine seat depth for a certain population has not been reported in literature. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology and determine the optimum seat depth for Chinese people. Sitting positions for different seat depths were determined as the distance between the buttock and the edge of the seat pan. Two experiments were designed and run using a specially designed chair. Experiment 1 used a seat surface without a cushion while experiment 2 had cushioning on the seat surface. Linear measures and subjective evaluations were the dependent variables. The design, methodology and the results of the two experiments are reported. In addition, the consistency, reliability and validity of the method is also discussed. Overall, the results suggest that the optimum seat depth for Chinese people ranges from 25 cm to 33 cm in comparison with the recommended value of 38 cm to 43 cm for the western population. The required seat depth appears to be lower when a cushioning element is present. The conclusions of this study have practical implications as Hong Kong attempts to generate its guidelines and standards for ergonomic furniture.